Have you ever felt stuck in a slump? Have you ever tried really hard at something (or multiple things) and never "won" what you sought after? It happens to everyone. Trust me.
In high school, especially my senior year, I started forming a list of everything I was rejected from. This list included scholarships, leadership opportunities, and other programs that I was really passionate about being a part of. Why did I make this list? Sometimes it seems pretty stupid to remember the things I didn't win, but I didn't do it to have a pity-party for myself. I made that list because I wanted to remember the things I didn't win so that later I could see how my "losses" turned into "victories" in other areas of my life.
Notre Dame. I wanted so badly to get accepted there. The education was prestigious, the atmosphere was legendary, and the campus was the most beautiful I had ever seen. I watched "Rudy" way too much, and I kept dreaming of my own Rudy moment when I would open that letter, or to my dismay an email and find out that I was accepted into the university. When March came and Notre Dame released their second string of acceptances, I received an email from the admissions office, and my heart stopped. This was what I had been waiting four years for. I logged in to discover what my fate would be, and my heart proceeded to sink. I didn't get in. Disappointment was an understatement for where my feelings were headed. I had already been turned down from scholarships I really wanted, and now that happened. I had done everything I absolutely could to be outstanding enough to get in, and it wasn't enough. Being second in my class, participating in a bunch of clubs, and playing a few sports didn't seem to matter anymore. I had worked so hard to get turned down.
Everything I did was not for the purpose of getting into Notre Dame. I loved everything I participated in and was really passionate about those activities, but I knew that I needed an exceptional resume if I even wanted a chance at making it in. I got heavily involved in many things, and I am really glad I did, but when I added Notre Dame to my list of rejections, I wasn't in tears, anger, or frustration. I was hopeful. I knew that God had a plan for my life, and it obviously wasn't at Notre Dame. I knew that He would lead me where I needed to go, and He did. I am now at Purdue University, where I found the major that I love, classes that I enjoy, and clubs that I am excited about being a part of. I think I was meant to be here.
Sometimes it's easy to remember all of the things we've been turned down from and to focus on those things instead of the things that we do win and succeed at. Sometimes we feel like nothing is going right or that we can't even succeed at anything. It takes time, though, and it may take a lot of it. Instead of obsessing over the things we've been turned down from, however, we must learn to transform disappointment into hope. Maybe an internship you didn't get is pretty frustrating, but why not believe that something better will come around or that a different internship will help you get the one you want someday? Maybe a scholarship you didn't get is pretty upsetting, but why not believe that you will receive something better in the future or that everything will work out as it's supposed to even without that scholarship?
Everything is going to be all right. Someday you will look back and realize that the things you didn't "win" helped you "win" the things you were supposed to. You may feel stuck right now and that nothing good is happening, but it will. Your time will come. Just remember that when you feel like you're losing at everything, something worth waiting for is coming your way.
